wells clan

A couple days late

2011-09-11T20:43:00.002-04:00

Piper turned 9 months old on the 9th. I decided I had better take some pictures of her so that everyone can enjoy the little girl that I am loving to death. Her personality is starting to come out and she is finally starting to sleep through the night. We are both so much happier! :) She is such a joy to our family and we love the smiles that she puts on our faces every day. She truly is a joy!

Morning coversation :)

2011-09-09T11:19:00.002-04:00

So this morning I Ashtyn, Piper and I were up at 7am. I usually let Joe sleep in because he works and has school so I want him to be well rested. Anyways, around 8:45am we went upstairs to wake daddy up. I usually tell Ashtyn to rub daddy's back but this morning I though I would be mean. So I whispered in Ashtyns ear, before we went in the room, "suck on your finger and then put your finger in daddy's ear!" He was so excited that when we went into our room he announced "DADDY! Put my finger in daddy's ear." Naturally Joe knew exactly what was about to happen and covered his ears. Ashtyn tried his hardest, and after numerous failed attempts, he said "come on dad, it'll be fun!" We were laughing so hard, but what made it even better was after a few more attempts Ashtyn finally said "Okay, fine!" and stuck his not-so-wet-anymore finger in my ear.

Let's play catch up

2011-04-08T14:11:00.000-04:00

We had so much fun in Idaho last month. We left PA on the 6th of March and came back on the 14th. There were so many pictures that I wanted to use, but I don't have enough space and time to put them all on here. Here is my brother Burke with his girlfriend Tiffany. She is so much fun... I do not know how Burke got ahold of her :) I was so excited to learn that while we were going to be in Idaho, that Barrett was going to be able to have his "Farewell." He is going to Balem, Brazil and he just reported to the MTC in Provo, Ut yesterday. He was supposed to go to the Brazil MTC, but his visa didn't come through so he has to wait.

Since we were planning to be in Idaho in March we waited to bless Piper so that family could be involved. She was so gorgeous and I was so happy that all of our family was able to participate.

Here she is with her dad!

Later that night, after the dinner that we had for Piper and Barrett, Burke and Tiffany came over and spent the evening with us. They brought their rats and I thought he was going to be scared of them, but Ashtyn absolutly LOVED them. As you can tell from the pictures, I could not get Ashtyn to look at me. He was way to busy with those rats.

I love this picture! He was having so much fun and you can just see it in his eyes.

Piper Lynn is here!!

2010-12-22T16:09:00.000-05:00

So my original due date with Piper was the 4th of December. I knew from my previous pregnancies that there is no way I was going to deliver early. On the 7th my doctor gave me the option to be induced and I was game... I was ready to be done and he said that I was 40% effaced and 4cm dialated. This was on Tuesday and so we scheduled for my induction at 7:30am Thursday (the 9th). Joe's mom flew in Wednesday night and on the way to the airport to pick her up my contractions were about every 8 minutes apart. I didn't think to much of them because they were not very painful and I figured that I would be going into the hospital the next morning anyways.... so why get excited. They continued at about that rate the rest of the evening and at aroun11:30 Joe and I decided to go to bed. Right before we turned out the lights Joe made me laugh really hard, to the point of tears, and I had one really strong contraction. We got in bed and from there my contractions were every 3-5 minutes apart. I tried going to sleep and finally gave up at 1:00am when they were starting to hurt pretty bad. We headed into the hospital at 1:30am. I was 80% effaced and 5cm. The nurse asked if I wanted to go ahead and get my epidural and because I knew it took some time to get it all organized I told her yes. By 2:30 I was comfortable again and slept off and on until 6:00am when I had an urge to push. I called the nurse and told her. She checked me about 15 minutes later and said I was ready. We did a test push and she said that with that one push that she had crowned. They called the doctor in and 4 pushes later, at 6:23am Piper Lynn was born. She weighed 8Lbs 8Oz and measured 21 inches long. And of course my doctor gave me so much crap about not waiting until the following morning so that he could get some sleep :) Here she is....

We were so excited when we asked if we could go home early and the doctors said yes. We had only been there for about 30 hours. Here is Piper ready to go home, just waiting for dad to come pick us up.

Your watching him, right?

2010-11-21T19:34:00.000-05:00

The other day I was having a "tune out" day. I had been clashing with Ashtyn all day and was ready to give up. So when Joe got home I kinda automatically tuned out and let him watch Ashtyn. Obviously, Joe thought I was watching him as well and all the sudden I heard him smacking his lips. I looked and saw the bathroom door was open.... he loves watching me put makeup on in the mornings and figured he would try himself. He just got my brown eye shadow instead of my bronzer and decided that it would be fun to try and eat it. Oh, it gets better, read on.

So, after we got him cleaned up I was sitting on the couch and he would run to me and I would hold him over my head and tickle him. Well, I guess the makeup didn't agree with his stomach and about ten minutes into us playing Ashtyn threw up on my face and all down the front of me. It was sick! I wasn't about to wait for Joe to take a picture of that :) And, needless to say, Joe thought it was very funny because right before I lifted Ashtyn up the last time, I had told him to go run to his Dad. Joe loves that fact that I got thrown up on and not him. We don't play that game anymore..... :)

My Little Monkey

2010-10-24T08:15:00.000-04:00

Joe and I always call Ashtyn our little monkey, so it only seemed appropriate for us to dress Ashtyn up as a monkey this year. He loved his costume!! We found it at Goodwill for 10 dollars and when I got it home found out the zipper didn't work. I took it back and told them that if they refunded me 5 buck then I would still take it and figure out how to jimmy-rig it some how. They refunded me the 5 and when I got it home and took it appart, Joe was able to get the zipper back on! Needless to say, now I have to hide the costume from Ashtyn or he drags it around the house all day talking to it. He knows the word monkey to, so he asks for it all the time. Here are some pictures of the ward Trunk-or-Treat. Joe wasn't able to go cuz he had to work, so here Ashtyn is with our good friends Rachel and Kenny!

My favorite is his little banana hooked to his sleeve

I thought for sure that he would not keep the hood on, but he did.

How could you not love this little monkey!?

Fall is here!

2010-10-12T21:00:00.000-04:00

I am so excited for the fall weather here in PA! It is so beautiful with all the trees. Tonight Ashtyn and I went to Brady Run park and took pictures. It was so much fun and brought to my attention again, #1, how much I love being a mother and a wife, and #2, how greatful I am for the beauty all around me. I have been blessed with so much and even though we have very little right now (college students :)) and no money to do anything, I wouldn't change it at this point for anything. We are so happy and find great joy in the little things that life brings.

Joe is doing very well in school and has only a couple more flights left before he is finished and has his private pilots license. He is working as much as he can to support us and gets along really well with all of the people he works with. He is a teacher over the young men in our church and from what I can tell enjoys his calling. He is working very hard and I love him very much for the sacrafice that he is putting into our little family.

I am getting more and more busy. Just this last week I had 4 people call and schedule photo shoots. It is nice to have a little extra money, so Joe and I are going on a date this week:) YAY! I am also staying busy practicing the piano as much as I can. The primary music gal asked me about a month ago if I would play the piano for the primary program. I have a huge phobia (?) of playing the piano in front of people, and I figured this would be a good way to hopefully get over that. As of this weekend I have 7 weeks until this little girl is supposed to arrive.... we are so excited! I can't believe how fast time has gone buy. So needless to say, I am getting tired easier and try to take a nap each day so that I can keep up with my two busy boys:). I have also taken up crocheting and making girls hair bows, just for fun, and that keeps me busy too.

Ashtyn is so full of energy! He is becoming much easier to understand and learns a new word almost every other day now. His new thing is telling me he has pooped his pants buy holding his rear end and saying "mommy, bubble!" At least he is telling me, right? I think it is so funny! He also loves Veggietales. He brings me one at least 10 times a day swaying side to side and trying to sing so that I will hopefully give in and let him watch it. We try to stick to one time a day. He is now opening doors as well and gets so mad when he can't shut them. But the thing that I would say that he loves the most is his cars. He drives them everywhere and loves to crash them into eachother. He is so much fun and I am glad that he will have a little sister soon. I think he will love it. I'm sure he (and I) will have a lot of adjusting to do, but I know that we will love it.

Here are some of the pictures of the park and Ashtyn.

This is my absolute favorite! This is his personality... just like his dad.

The hat... Grandma Anderson made for him.... and he won't put it down:)

Wrapped around their finger

2010-09-18T16:11:00.000-04:00

Well, needless to say, but this little girl has me wrapped around her finger and she is not even here yet! I thought that was supposed to happen to dad, not me :) Anyways, I found a killer deal on ribbon and have wanted to make some bows to match the outfits that we have for her. I got all of this ribbon for $6. Yeah, I know, I'm awesome :) So this is the latest and greatest project that I have been working on. I will post again when I have some of them complete.

I'm so excited!

I'm not the only one wrapped up though.... Ashtyn loves to ride around on daddy's back and get bounced around. What a typical little boy! He has so much fun with his dad and follows him around a lot just saying "daddy, daddy, daddy!"

Ashtyn also has me wrapped around his finger. He loves his blanket and always want me to wrap it around him so that he has a cape. He runs around the house until it falls off and then brings it back to me to put it on him again and again. He is my little super hero!

Our Trip to Idaho!

2010-09-10T17:42:00.000-04:00

This is more for my benefit than those of you reading it. We had the opportunity to fly back to Idaho on the 12th of September so that I could be there to photograph my niece's wedding. To start out, our flight was supposed to leave Pittsburgh at 7:15 the night of the 12th. My dad and sister, Kylee had left that afternoon so that they could be at the SLC airport to pick us up when we landed around 11:30. Well when we got to the airport we were informed that our flight was delayed by 2 hours and so we would miss our connecting flight from Minniapolis to SLC. Because I needed to be there to take pictures, when they told me that the earliest flight to SLC would arrive at 2pm, I was not happy. We would then have to drive 6 hours to Boise where the wedding was taking place. So I asked them if they had any flights to Boise. They did, so therefore we flew to Minniapolis, stayed the night there, and then flew from there straight to Boise. That was nice, but I felt bad for my dad who drove down there to get us. When we arrived in Boise, Neff, my sister-in-law was nice enough to come and get us and drop us of at our friends house. They were out of town for the week and had left a key for us to stay in their appt and use there rig. We were very greatful. We got ready for the wedding and WOW! It was so beautiful.
The following day we slept in, went to IHOP for breakfast then went to Kathring Albertson park to get some more still shots of the the bride and groom. We then went to lunch with Kim and Kyle's family (my brother and sister-in-law) and some of their good friends. Kim was headed home to Twin Falls that day so we caught a ride with her and my parents came and picked us up.
On Sunday, the 15th, we went to church with my parents. I think at that point Ashtyn had had enough and half way through church Joe left with Ashtyn and put him down for a nap. After Ashtyn woke up we had lunch with my family and then headed up to Joe's parents house where we got to see Baroo again! We miss our puppy so so much and are so glad that Joe's parents are taking care of her for us. She was so excited to see us as well. She about flattened me :) The rest of the family came up and met us there and then we all went up to the cabin in the basin and had a dutch oven dinner. It was so much fun!
Over the next week here are some of the the fun things that we did.
Monday - Relaxed and went Jet skiing that night
Tuesday - Went to the fair and checked things out. Went to Boise and stayed with Tom and Neff and the girls.
Wednesday - Saw the girls at Petersons, saw Kelsey from Gold's Gym, Saw some of Joe's friends from Coke, I got a message from Neff, then headed back to Burley for some more jet skiing down at Hobson's boat docks.
Thursday - Jet skiing again and went to Steve and De's and hung out with them.
Friday - Went to the fair where Joe and his brother Steve tried to get hypnotized, but that didn't work so well. Joe snapped out of it about 5 minutes in. Darn! I would liked to see him do some crazy things.
Saturday - Joe's dad came down to my parents and visited that morning. Then we left for Utah for a day of fun at Lagoon. Ashtyn, Mom and I didn't go, so we went and spent the day at Temple square and with Beau and Melissa and family. After a long day at Lagoon, we took Joe to the SLC airport so that he could come home and start the new semester on monday.
Sunday - Ashtyn and I made it through chruch then crashed. We then had dinner with mom and dad and the Potters that were in town.
The next week I was able to just spend a lot of time with my family, especially my sister. On Wednesday I went back up to Boise to spend the day with Racheal. We had so much fun and oh boy do I miss her. On Friday and Saturday I was able to go to Twin Falls and hang out with Kim and her family again. I miss them so much too. We also took Senior pictures of Barrett that night. Sunday Ashtyn and I made it through about half of relief society and then had to come home a crash again. Tuesday I was able to visit my favorite hair dresser (YAY) and get my hair done. We also took a bunch more pictures of Barrett and Kylee as well. That night Ashtyn and I got a total of about 30 minutes of sleep and then left for the SLC Airport to fly home. Our flight left at 8:45 and then we had to make an emergency landing in Witchita, Kansas to let an elderly lady off that was foaming at the mouth, throwing up, and passing out. After we landed in TN, Ashtyn and I had to run to our connecting flight that was boarding as our flight landed. We made it thought and arrived safely at home at about 5pm. We were so glad to see Joe again and missed him so much.

I love being a mom!

2010-08-09T17:49:00.000-04:00

I am extremely happy at the opportunity I get to be a mom. There are those days when I wonder what I ever got myself in to, but most days are like these.... when nothing in the world could ever explain how much I love and cherish Joe and Ashtyn. They make me so happy!

Fun at the Pittsburgh Zoo

2010-08-04T13:08:00.000-04:00

Joe, Ashtyn, and I went to the Pittsburgh Zoo last thursday the 29th. It was so much fun and Ashtyn was mezmorized (?) the whole time. He pointed at everything and tried his best to make each animal sound. He wanted to climb in the pin with all of them too. Here are some of the many animals we were able to see.

The Sea Lions were the only thing that scared Ashtyn.

He didn't like how they would swim right at the glass

when he was so close.

This is my favorite picture of the day

Loving the 4th!

2010-07-14T18:38:00.000-04:00

I was so glad to hear that Center Township was doing a fireworks show cuz I wanted Ashtyn to see fireworks, but I didn't want to have to pay an arm and a leg for something that would burn up in two seconds. So on Sunday night we went to the park and watched their fireworks show. Ashtyn was in complete amazement! I wish I could have got a good picture of him, but I couldn't.

Announcing... a little GIRL!!

2010-07-12T12:58:00.000-04:00

We were able to go have an ultrasound today and found out that we are having a little girl and that she is as healthy as can be. No worries at all. She is right on track with size and a little stuborn from what the lady at the hospital said. She did not want to move to get pictures of her jaw and neck taken. Should I be scared already? :) Just kidding! We are very excited for the addition to our family that we will soon be able to meet. At first I was very set on the idea of having another boy and was kinda hoping that it would be a boy since I've already done it. But the more I thought about it, the more I have hoped and hoped that it was going to be a girl. I have never liked flowers and frillies for girls, but found myself being drawn to them while looking at baby stuff the last couple of months. I've also felt from the very begining that it was going to be a girl even though at first I did not particularly like the idea of having a girl. But I am very pleased now that we are, indeed, having a girl. Here she is!!

BBRRMM! BBRRMM! BBRRMM!

2010-07-02T22:18:00.000-04:00

I can barely pry any car or truck out of Ashtyns hands now days. He loves to go outside and watch cars drive by. And when they do he points at them, stiffens his body, and yells bbbbrrrmmm, bbbrrrmmm, bbbrrrmmm (always three times too)! Any picture of a car he sees he does the same thing and oh boy it is a show when dad plays his Need for Speed game. He sits by dad so patiently and does not move his eyes from the TV. It is so fun to see him so interested and intrigued by something. I love it! Here he is with his dump truck.

The Latest and Greatest!

2010-07-01T14:42:00.000-04:00

Wow!! I have been doing a lot of crazy things lately and my latest and greatest was cutting and coloring my own hair. I have a really hard time paying someone 75-150 dollars to cut and color my hair and most of the time I end up fixing it to the way I like it anyways. But anyways, my hair was a little longer than shoulder length and I was getting tired of it, so I studied online on how to cut your own hair and decided heck why not? I can always go get it fixed if I don't like it and it will grow again. I was very nervous, but pleasently surprised with the outcome. Below are the pictures of my new hair do.

I see a couple stragglers that I'm going to have to have Joe trim,

but for the most part I think it looks good.

The do from the front.

Here are some other fun pictures that I thought I would add. They are, of couse, Of my little stud... Ashtyn. I love him so much and am greatful he is in our family :)

Ashtyn LOVES his new Home Depot

apron. He's just like daddy now.

Ashtyn takes his books to the bottom steps and sits
there to look at them. He is so much fun!

Update!

2010-06-21T12:51:00.000-04:00

Well it's been a while and things have finally calmed down a little, so I figured I'd catch up on a few things. PA is treating us very well. We have made a lot of new friends and love how green it is. On average it has rained every three days, and it is not your average Idaho sideways rain. This rain comes straight down and if you don't have an umbrella, your drenched. And the lightning storms are amazing!! But, enough about the weather.

We finally got moved into a townhouse on May 5th after living with some friends for almost a month. I'm sure they were glad to get rid of us :). Our town house is really close to everything we need too, so that is nice. Joe started school on the 17th of May and has been working close to 30 hours a week at the Home Depot in Chippewa Township. He works in the lawn and garden section and has really enjoyed it so far. He is doing very well in school and is about to finish two of his 6 week morning classes. YAY!! He has also started flying and LOVES it (imagine that)! He will continue for six more weeks with his math and reading classes, then he has a three week break and starts into the fall semester.

Ashtyn is growing like a weed. He loves playing outside and loves swimming too. He can't get enough of bath time and is starting to say things like ball, cat, dog, sketty (spaghetti), daddy, enny (Kenny, our friend that we stayed with), juice, nack(snack), hi, side (outside), and makes sounds for cats, dogs, horses, and cows. He loves chasing daddy around the house trying to tickle him and can't get enough of trying to sneak up on mom walking on his tip toes. He is very happy and tons of fun.

I'm doing great, just trying to keep up with Ashtyn. He has so much energy and I usually take a nap when he does just to make sure I have enough energy to finish out the day. I have been pretty sick with this pregnancy. More than with any other one. I finally started being able to stomach food about two weeks ago. I didn't throw up a lot, just nothing sounded good. I'm 17 weeks pregnant now and was able to feel the baby move for the first time two weeks ago. We have an appointment this thursday and we will be setting up our appt for our ultrasound to find out what we are having this time around. I'm very excited cuz we have never known before. Other than that, we are just loving life and just taking one day at a time.

Me! 17 Wks Pregnant

Our townhouse complex. Ours is the one with the door open.

And of course, my adorable little man :)

Loves to play in the water that stays on the slide after it rains.

PA is home now :)

2010-04-24T22:34:00.000-04:00

Well, just to catch you all up on what is happening with us, we are now living in Pennsylvania! We sold our house in Meridian, three hours before we pulled out with the Penske truck and trailer. That was wednesday the 14th. We drove that night to my parents house to see family and stay the night there. We left around 9 the next morning and headed to Salt Lake to see Beau and his family. After eating lunch with them we jumped on 80 and headed across wyoming to drop down into Thornton, Co to see Joe's brother and his wife. We arrived at there house at 10:30 that night. Friday morning we got a late start because we didn't want to leave Erik and Johanna's house. We loved staying with them and Erik can COOK!! It was so good!! So we left at 11am and dropped down into Denver and started heading across on 70. By 9 that night we had made in to Laramie, KS. We stayed in a hotel that night and it was the most disgusting place I have ever stayed in my life!! We wont go into a lot of detail, needless to say they ended up giving us a refund. Saturday morning we got an eairlier start and drove 18 hours to our destination. We took a couple of un needed detors because of a grand GPS idea, but it all worked out and we were blessed with no problems. Ashtyn did AMAZING!! He only got crabby twice and it was on our 18 hour day. We are now staying with a couple from the church out here. We stayed with them before when we came out in January to check things out, and they are amazing people. We have already created and great friendship with them. They have been gracious enought to let us stay with them as long as we want. I had a feeling we were going to be staying with them forever until just yesterday. We found a brand new townhouse for low income families. It is getting built right now and should be available the first week in May. It is smaller then what we are used to, but it will be perfect for our little family.
Ashtyn did great coming across, but now that we are here he is very confused. He wants to be held a lot and doesn't know what he can and can't do and get in to. It doesn't help that he is teething right now too. Poor little guy. This is the worst any of his teeth have been. But I sure love him!
Joe got registered for school and boy do they take advantage of you with out of state tuition. He is taking a reading a math class that is required before he can enter the ATC program. We are so excited that his dreams are becoming a reality at last. His first day at his new job was today and he said that his boss it so cool. He will be workin in the lawn/garden department at the Home Depot.
About me! Well not a lot that is new besides the news that we are expecting baby Wells #3. We just found out and are very happy to be soon welcoming a new little one into our family. Other than that I am just trying to adjust to my knew little world with no straight roads, trees everywhere, and no real mountains (just hill after hill after hill). Don't get me wrong, it is beautiful out here. It will just take a little to get used to after living in the flat dead west for so long.
And last, but definatly not least I have to thank my Heavenly Father. Joe and I have prayed long and hard about our decision to move out here for Joe's education. There has been nothing but blessings and answers to our prayers ever since we started praying about this. We sold our house for the price we were asking and everything has worked in our favor and I know it was all because of Him.
Well, I'm out for the night. Just wanted to catch you all up on our wonderful and adventurous life. I will post pictures soon too!

1 Year Old!

2010-03-22T17:55:00.000-04:00

Ashtyn turned 1 on Saturday. It was so much fun! He was pretty shy with people here, but loved the attention. I decided to take on the project of making him a cake and I think Joe was more excited about it than Ashtyn. Hahahaha.... that's okay though. Most of the time I think these first few birthdays are more for the parents than the children. But I loved decorating this cake. Joe was very precise on telling me where all the lines where to go and what color they should be. We have a video of Ashtyn opening his presents and eating his cake, but I don't know how to upload it to my computer, so I'll have to wait for Joe to upload it and then I will post it. But here is the picture of the cake I made.

Latest Projects

2010-02-18T17:04:00.000-05:00

I've had a couple of friends that have either had a baby recently or are expecting in the next month so I decided to make them these cute wall decorations. You just take a ring or hoop, paint it the color you want, stretch the fabric you want and iron on the patch. Super simple and way cute in my opinion. Dani, a girl that Joe works with, is having a boy in march and their theme is "under construction" and "dump trunks." Super Cute!!!!

These ones are for a coupl that Joe and I go to church with that just adopted a little boy. He is adorable and I just got to do their photo shoot with the birth mother and the adopting parents it was awesome and you can check it out at yourstillmemories.blogspot.com. Their theme was "jungle animals."

What's new with us?

2010-01-31T18:21:00.000-05:00

Well there are lots of new things going on right now. But the main thing that will be a big change in our lives is our big move to Pennsylvania. Not for sure when we will be moving, but we are 99% sure that it will happen. We have decided to move out there so that Joe can attend the community college of Beaver county. There he will get his associates degree in the ATC (Air Traffic Control) Program. He is very excited, as am I, for him to finaly get onto the career path that he has always wanted to do. We were very blessed to be able to fly out there this last montha and scope out the area. A young couple out there graciously(?) took us in while we were there to help cut costs while we were out there. Joe was able to have quite a few interviews while we were out there and has been able to find quite a few places that are hiring. Just waiting to hear from them and see if another trip out there is what we need to do to get things in line. We could be leaving as soon as 3 weeks, but we want to be out of here by April at the latest. Hopefully all will go well and we will be able to fulfill Joe's dreams.

Ashtyn is growing up way to fast. Just this last week he has started to stand up on his own. No steps yet, but that is okay with me. It is hard to believe that he will be a year old pretty soon. Nothing is safe by him anymore, and anything that Mom is doing he wants to do too. He is no stranger to new foods either and I haven't found anything that he does not like. He eats everything. He decided to quit breastfeeding too, which is fine with me. I was starting to tire of it. Loved it and miss it, but glad to be done too. He is so funny and very entertaining. Baroo loves him too, I think mostly because he tries to feed her everything that he is eating and then gets mad whenever she eats it. hahahah. Oh well.

As for me, I am starting into photography. I love it! I have been planning on doing this for the last year and am finally getting started. Thanks to a friend too, for taking me under her wing to teach me a few things. I have started a blog for my photography. It is still under construction, so things are pretty scatterd, but take a look and let me know what you think. It is yourstillmemories.blogspot.com. I know I have a lot to learn and am excited for every opportunity I have to learn.

No break

2009-12-08T23:53:00.000-05:00

Poor Ashtyn. This little guy has not had a break from teething for a couple of months now. He started sounding congested three days ago and his 8th tooth is about to break through. Oh well. Hopefully he'll get a break here soon, so that I can have a happy little boy.

Another Thrifty Deal :)

2009-12-01T13:18:00.000-05:00

So Monday's are my designated couponing days. Yesterday I went to walgreens and this is what I got.

2- Gillette Fusion Power Razors
4- Complete Multi-purpose contact solution
1- Nyquil
1- Dayquil
4- Oral B satin Floss
4 - 4pks of AA Batteries
10 - Holiday pencils
2 - Spiral Notebooks
2 - reams of 285 sheets of paper
3 - carmels (used as filler items)

I figured it up last night and my total befor coupons and sales would have been 137.33. I got it all for 22.39, PLUS I got back 28.00 in catalina coupons that are good on my next purchase. Majority of these items I got paid(catalinas) to buy. So really I got paid 5.61 to get all these items. I can live with that. :)

Another tooth!

2009-12-01T13:07:00.000-05:00

As of friday last week Ashtyn had 6 teeth. I woke up on saturday morning and there was a 7th tooth! I didn't even know that he was teething because he has been so happy. It would be wonderful if all of his teeth came in that way, but I am not counting on it. He is so much fun! We love him so much. This last week he is zooming around the house seeing what he can get away with. He loves the hard wood floors because they make more noise and he will sit in the entry way and just sing at the top of his lungs. He also loves tormenting the dog, but Baroo loves any attention that she can get. They are great together. Baroo really likes it when Ashtyn gets away from me after he has eaten and I haven't wiped his face off yet, she tries to get to him before I do to clean him up. GROSS! And Ashtyn just giggles. His newest thing though is saying "wasat" in a whisper. I don't think he knows what he is saying, but it is so cute. We'll be playing on the floor and everything is "wasat," "wasat."

Couponing? Why do it?

2009-11-24T14:34:00.000-05:00

Well here's why..... I have to tell you about that thrifty deal that I got yesterday from couponing. These are the items that I got and it only cost me 24.94.

5 packages of Oscar Myer bacon
2 packages of Johnsonville Sausage links
3 packages of Nestles Cookie Dough
3 cartons (64 oz) of Florida's orange juice
2 boxes of pepperridge farm crakers
2 15 oz containers of apple sauce
2 childrens Tylenol cough and cold syrup

If I would have bought all of this at normal price I would have spent 103.38, but because I combined coupons with sales I was able to get a killer deal.

On the Go

2009-11-23T09:53:00.000-05:00

On saturday Ashtyn officially started crawling. AAAAHHHH! I feel like there will never be peace in our house again. No. We have been trying to coax him for the last couple of weeks to crawl instead of just rocking. On saturday morning I had my phone on the floor and that did it. So therefore I cleaned all the floors, but that didn't seem to matter. He still finds the tiniest things on the floor. It is so fun to watch him crawl because he is still making huge strides and big movements....it is to funny. So watch out all, nothing is safe anymore. :)

Eight Months Old (yesterday)

2009-11-21T18:19:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe that Ashtyn is eight months old. I remember thinking that he was so old at six weeks. I started crying yesterday while I was watching him play on the floor and just this morning when I thought I was in control, he took of crawling for the first time. WHAT! I started crying again. I keep thinking how little time we really have with our children and why we have to watch what we say and do. Time just goes by so fast and they learn so quick. I have to be careful the mood that I'm in around him as well because he picks up on it and most of the time copies me.
I cut his hair the other day. He looks like such a little man now, but it is SO SO cute. I'll have to post some pictures here pretty soon. I took probably close to two inches off and he still has a head full of hair. It was a fight though. He hates people touching his head, even if it is just a pat, he will arch his back and scream at you. So, to say the least, I had to pin him down with me legs so I could use both my hands to buzz him. Let's just say..... he took a really good nap when we were done. It was well worth it though.
Just one last thought. Let's all try harder to let our children know how much we really do care about them and how much we need them in our lives. I don't know if I feel this way a lot more often because of what happened to Ayden, or if I am feeling it because of a book that I am reading called "Unlikely Truths of Motherhood," but I just feel like we need to be more greatful for our children. They bring so much joy and happiness into our lives and we need to show them how much we love them each day. Sit and play with them. Laugh with them. Be patient with them. Teach them. And most of all tell, them and show them that you love them because you never know when you will no longer have them.

Family Pictures!

2009-11-03T22:50:00.000-05:00

Family pictures were so much fun and I LOVE the results. I think it is because of the amazingly good looking boys that are part of my life. Ashtyn did so good and we got some of the best pictures of him. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Ashtyn looks so seriouse :)

Okay, maybe not.

I love this little boy!

The real smile...this is so him.

He knows how to pose

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!

My SEXY man!

His SEXY wife! Ha Ha:)

Sexy man + Sexy wife = Baby :)

Hope you enjoyed the pics, maybe not the comments. But it made you laugh huh?

Missing you!

2009-10-24T19:37:00.000-04:00

Today is a day that Joe and I have been looking forward too for a couple of months. Today is Ayden's two year birthday! Joe was lucky enough to get the weekend off and we are here in Oakley headed up to Ayden's grave here in about 20 minutes. There are days that I look at pictures of him and it breaks my heart that I do not have a little 2 year old running around. I wonder all the time what he would look like and the personality he would have. Joe and I have been talking a lot about what it might have been that Ayden was called back to our Heavenly Father so soon and we always finish the conversation feeling that he had a very special mission that he needed to return for. We are so greatful that we were blessed with him in our lives. We are greatful for how things happened and that we were prompted to let him leave. It has been a hard couple of years without him, but as time goes on I realize more and more that God knows us better than we do. I trust him so much and am greatful for his trust in me as a mother. I am greatful that we have something to look forward to and work towards as a family. It keeps us going each and every day. I am so greatful for my husband and the support that he gives me each day, especially that hard days when all I want to do is cry. He is my one and only and I would not trade him for everything (some days I don't feel that way :)). I am greatful that God blessed me with a wonderful and healthy boy who is happy. He feels a hole in my heart that no one else can. I love him so much! I can't wait to see Ayden again and know that the reunion will be great. I know that he knows how much I miss him and how much I love him! I am so glad to call him mine.

My Boys

2009-09-03T17:25:00.000-04:00

The other night Joe and I were trying to figure out something to do because we were so board. So we decided to walk down to Jack in the Box and get a shake and then walk to Hastings and get a movie. It is the first time that we have had to really bundle Ashtyn up when going outside. They both looked so cute with their hoodies on that I had to get a picture. Joe and I had fun, but Ashtyn didn't like that passing trucks so much. Every time a loud truck would pass by he would jerk around and start crying. Therefore I had to carry him much of the time. Poor little guy! So lately he and I have been going on walks to get him used to the noise of cars passing by. He is doing much better and loves being outside.

So Funny!

2009-08-15T11:06:00.000-04:00

I decided I'd better update my blog since that looks nothing like my son anymore. He is growing up way to fast and we love him so much. He brings so much joy and happiness into our lives and we love being parents. He is just shy of turning five months old and has a list of things that he is doing, but just to mention a few; laughing like crazy, blowing bubbles, already cut two teeth, rolling from side to side (not over very much), pushing himself up on his knees, scooting across the room on his tummy, grabbing everything, and loving his puppy dog. He is such and happy baby, even through his teething he has been very enjoyable and good natured. I can't express enough how happy I am to have this boy and the healing that has taken place by having him in my life. Here's some pics of the little guy.

Daddy's dressing me.

Being happy (wow should have fixed the red eye before posting)

Oh, I almost totally forgot, the reason I titled this So Funny is because of our dog. She must have eaten something or got stung by something because she had an allergic reaction and this is what she looked like yesterday.

This is her face normally

This was yesterday....I still am laughing

Don't worry she is fine now, but I just could not help myself. I had to show you all. Hope it makes your day like it did mine. HAHA

MyRecipes

2009-07-13T18:55:00.001-04:00

MyRecipes

Shared via AddThis

Sleeping Habits

2009-05-21T17:35:00.000-04:00

I always find it very funny how babies can sleep, and in what positions. Check out this crazy boy and his way of sleeping.

Little Big Boy

2009-05-19T13:22:00.001-04:00

I keep calling this kid our little boy when in all reality he is getting huge! As of May 14th Ashtyn weighs in at 13 lbs and 6 oz. Time sure is flying buy. He was blessed on the 3rd of this month and we had lots of friends and family in town. It was great and he just slept through the whole thing. After his blessing we had a dinner out at the Tuscany homes clubhouse thanks to a good friend Kristi Burke. Heaven knows Joe's family would not fit in our house. It was great to see everybody! Here are some pictures from his blessing day.

Ashtyn's Photo Session with Mandie Anderson

2009-05-01T19:37:00.000-04:00

Mandie is so awesome at what she does, and I don't think that she gives herself enough credit. She took some adorable pictures of Ashtyn yesterday. Thank you so much Mandie

One Month Today!

2009-04-20T16:17:00.000-04:00

The cute little stink is already a month old and I'm looking back at it wondering where all the time went..... but these truely are the best of times! I couldn't be happier (or more sleep deprived). I am so excited for each day to see how it is different from the day before.

Thanks Grandma Wells!

2009-04-13T14:15:00.000-04:00

I loved playing dress ups as a kid and I love it now too, as I have a live doll to play with. Ashtyn wasn't to happy with some of the pictures as you can tell. But we got through them and got some pretty cute pictures of the little guy and we owe it to Grandma Wells. She bought the outfit when he was born and it has been my favorite to dress him up in so far. Especially the shoes! They are tiny and I love them.... thanks Renee :)

As of last friday, the 10th, he weighed 9 lbs 11 oz. He is growing like a weed! He is starting to get the chunky thighs and cheeks. He smiles unvolentarily right now and he is blessed with my dimples! Yeah!

He loves the water. Every time we take him out he gets pretty upset, which I can't blame him... I love warm baths too :)

Loving being a mom!

2009-04-03T14:10:00.000-04:00

Wow! Words can't explain how happy I am to be a full time mom! Don't get me wrong, we still have some rough nights, but nothing can compair to the rough days and nights that we had with Ayden. Ashtyn is such and joy to Joe and I and we charish and thank Heavenly Fathers each day for the opporitunity to be parents and have a healthy, happy baby. It is so crazy to think that he is already two weeks old, and I know that time is going to just keep going faster.

He is so much fun! Typically he is awake and alert from about nine to noon and then again from about six to nine in the evening. He is so alert and loves to just look around. He hardly cries, just when he is hungry or has gas. Other than that he is as happy as can be. Nights are getting better. As long as I keep it dark, after I feed him, he usually falls right back to sleep and doesn't wake up till he is hungry again.

He loves cuddling with mom too. That will not last I'm sure, but I will just enjoy it for now. Well the little guy just woke up, so I am off!

Welcome to the world Ashtyn!

2009-03-23T20:38:00.000-04:00

Well things this go around were a little hecktic again. I planned on delivering at the birth center down town naturally. I went in to labor at 12:30am on the 2oth and things were progressing very well until about 7:30. Same thing happened last time with Ayden. I had one edge on my cervix that would not thin. Once the midwives broke my water we leared that the baby had passed a meconium stool and so that complicated things a little more. After not progressing for three hours, Joe and I prayed about what we should do. My contractions were getting so strong that I almost passed out twice and I had one that made me do a little projectile vomiting. At that point Joe and I felt prompted that we needed to go to the hospital. I was given a epidural, thank heavens, and that did the trick.... I was able to relax and my cervix dialated the rest of the way. I think I pushed maybe five times. Because the baby passed the meconium he was rushed to the NICU to be suctioned out and make sure that he had not swollowed any of the fluid. Joe and I thank the Lord for the prompting to go to the hospital because it could have been really bad if we hadn't. He spent a couple of days in the NICU but we were able to bring him home yesterday. Yeah! We love having him here...the long wait to have a healthy and baby and participate in the joys of being a parent have been long awaited. Here are some pictures. We named him Ashtyn Lee and he was 8 pounds 8 ounces (exactly what Ayden weighed), 21 inches long and a head full of hair.

I finally get to hold the baby I've been waiting so long for!

No fun with all the monitors, but we are so happy to have a healthy baby!

One of the nurses did his hair.... I love it!

Ready to go home, just waiting for mom to get discharged from the hospital.

Just sleeping peacefully

Right there with Jordann and Zach... just waiting

2009-03-11T15:38:00.000-04:00

We are still on the edge of our seat waiting for this little one to get here. I have been having false labor contactions since February 27th. They are very inconsistant and they are not comfy that is for sure. The good thing is that I am 80% effaced and dialated to a 2 so far, so hopefully it is just around the corner. Joe and I have tried everything to get things moving.... and nothing. I'm learning patience I guess. I decided today that I am going to start a project because chances are as soon a I do, I will more than likely start into real labor.....I'm going to give it a try and see if it works:) Wish me luck.

2009-01-25T12:20:00.000-05:00

Wow, time really does fly and I am glad for that at this point. Just six more weeks to go till this little one is here. Just fyi to all of you who have expressed concern to me about going through labor and having another baby, Joe and I feel very confident in what happened last time and are expecting a completely different experiance. We know that this little one is a completely different spirit and with that comes a completely different expectation. Don't get me wrong, I do have my rough days still and I do get scared at the thought of what if. All of you prayer and help in the next couple of months is greatly appreciated.... I know that I will need it as the day draws near. Joe and I are very anxious for the arrival of our new little addition and are very confident in the decisions that we have made, what ever the outcome might be. Thank goodness for a kind and gracious Father in Heaven who knows us better than we know ourselves.

The Holidays

2008-12-07T17:52:00.000-05:00

I can't believe another year is almost gone buy, but it is amazing to look back a realise what a great and challanging year it has been. I've grown so much and owe much thanks to my Heavenly Father for all that he has given me. Joe and I started attending a family ward today, and were delighted with the open arms that were extended to us as we start a new journey with a new (ward) family. Greatfully there are a lot of young familys mixed in with the elderly and we can say that we felt very good about our decision to go. It was time for a change in our lives and
we wanted to get settled before the baby arrived.

I'm very excited about Christmas this year... more excited than I have been in previous years. Not sure why, but I am thrilled for it to get here.

Twilight!!

2008-11-21T13:52:00.000-05:00

So I was very impressed with the movie even though I was not fond of the character that they had chosen for Edward, I am totally cool with it now because he was amazing. Joe went with me
to the midnight showing last night and I took a paid vacation day because I knew that I would be no use at work today. It was totally worth no sleep and Joe loved it too. Two thumbs up. I was impressed..... and so was the baby, it was wiggling around like crazy the whole movie (maybe I just noticed it because I was up through the night).

One Year...We Miss You!

2008-11-01T23:06:00.000-04:00

This last month has been a little bit of a challange, but also a great milestone in Joe and I's lives. The 24th of October marked what would have been Ayden's one year old birthday. We did our best to stay positive and make the best of our little guys birthday, but it was still hard. He is missed very much. We were able to spend about three hours in the Temple and just hold eachother and cry. But, what an amazing opporitunity to feel the spirit and receive some answeres to our heartache and worries. The only thing that I am worried about now is going through the year mark of the day that he died. We have great support and my parents are making a special trip to come and spend that weekend with us. The begining of this month Joe and I also made a special trip to the Cemetary to visit his grave and take him a little gift.

It was a very rewarding experience and we had a wonderful time building some good and positive memories of our little boy. Plus it was the first time we were able to see his headstone.

On a more upbeat note..... Joe and I are very greatful for the experiences that we have faced this year and for the trust that the Lord has given us and that He has in us to carry and face these trials. We know without a doubt that we will be able to be with our boy again and raise him in a perfect world. We also are very excited to be able to see him again and hear of all the wonderful things that he was called back to Heaven to do.

Orton's Move :(

2008-10-12T10:38:00.000-04:00

This is a little late getting up, but I wanted to let the Orton's know how much we are going to miss them here in Boise. On the 25th of last month some of Jaimee's friends all got together at Chili's and spent some time with her before she left us all. It was great! We had Nicole Durrant, Kara Cochran, Amber Smidt, Mandie Anderson, April Hansen, Jaimee and Myself. We had a lot of laughs and it was really great seeing all the other girls that had moved out of the ward. We miss all you and your families and are going to miss Jaimee, Jared and Jakobie. Love you Guys!

Aviation Weekend

2008-07-30T21:50:00.000-04:00

This last week was a blast. Joe is getting ready to get his private pilot license, and because of his deep interest in aircrafts (like my dad) we went to the Blue Angels air show in Twin Falls. I have to admit, I was very impressed and have a deep respect for the pilots. That is not a career that I could handle. And Joe was like a kid in a candy store.... All SMILES!

Not only where there fixed wing but also more helicopters than you could imagine. Joe and Kylee got to sit inside of an Apachee.

This is not my idea of fun. Haha. And I could not imagine being chased by a plane with guns like that on it.

Dad had the right idea. I would suggest being his friend too:)

This c-130 went up at the begining of the show and dropped 17 paratroopers. It was awesome and that plane is a monster! It took them 20 minutes just to get two of his propellers warmed up.
Thes guys practically sat on top of eachother the whole show. Blue Angels 1-4 were always in formation while 5 and 6 did all of the stunts. They moved with such acuracy that it is no wonder they get paid to do what they do. It was hard to get pictures of them too becuase they are so fast! It was well worth the sun burn and the money to see these guys fly.

Our Little Angel

2008-07-19T11:54:00.000-04:00

Joe and I were blessed with the joy of our lives on October 24th, 2007. Ayden Joseph Wells was born at home and due to health complications that took place 2-3 weeks before his birth, he returned to our Heavenly Father on November 14, 2007. We know with out a doubt that this was God's plan for our little boy and that he is accomplishing much more now then he ever would have being on earth.

His mission here is complete and we were instruments in the Lord's hands in aiding Ayden's little spirit to complete what he had promised in the pre-mortal world to do. I am sure that he was just as disappointed as we were that he could not stay here with us. It gives Joe and I the streangth each day to cope and strive to live worthily so that we might be able to raise him in the next life. He taught us so much about our selves and eachother that we could not ask for more and find it a blessing that things happened the way that they did. No matter what happens in the future we know that we have an angel rooting for us and hoping that we make it back to him too.

The Begining

2008-07-19T11:09:00.000-04:00

A lot of people like to hear Joe and I's story so I thought this might be the easiest. We were introduced to eachother when my dad directed the play "Damn Yankees." He was one of the baseball players and at first, to be honest, I felt sorry for Joe because he always sat alone. He was cute too, so that gave me a good excuse to talk to him. He and I "hung out" a lot during the play and to my great dismay he ditched me after it was over. He moved to Boise to get ready for his mission and moved back to Oakley shortly after becuase he wasn't preparing at all. When he got back he and I both were asked to be dance partners in the play "Annie get Your Gun." Like before we were very interested in eachother and once the play was over he again ditched me. He began dating another girl from the play and she decided to wait for him while he was on his mission(like that ever works). About half way through his mission she ended up getting married and breaking his heart. He came home in November of 2005 and after spending a week with his sister in Boise gave his homecoming address in Oakley. I was not going to go and finally decided I could at least support him as a friend(although I was hoping for more!). Therefore I took my mother and brothers and sister, that way it didn't look like I was stalking him. In the middle of sacrament meeting I noticed a very attractive girl peak around the chaple/gym seporators and wave at him. He lit up and waved back. I thought for sure that this was his new girlfriend and was disappointed. When the meeting was over he came straight to me and gave me a hug. Come to find out that girl was his sister that he had spent a week with upon returning home from his mission. I thought that Joe had a rather small family. The only two siblings I remember hearing about were his little sister Kayla, who passed away two weeks before here 8th birthday, and Jared, who had also been in Annie get Your Gun with us. He proceeded to ask my family if we wanted to come the dinner at there house and we agreed. On the way over there my mom asked me if I was ready for this curcus. I was confussed and asked her what she ment. "Well," she said, "You do know that Joe is number 9 out of 10 kids right?" I was shocked and still to this day I can't get all the kids right according to birth order. After that day Joe and I were inseperable. He proposed to me on January 6th, 2006, and we were married March 8th, 2006.